MULLERY'S PRAISE FOR HISTORY-MAKER HUGHTON

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton became the second man to lead the Seagulls into the top flight of English football, and Alan Mullery, who achieved the same feat in 1979, was delighted for the club’s current boss.

The Seagulls enjoyed four seasons in the top division from 1979 to 1983, after Mullery had guided them out of the Second Division, and after Albion’s recent success, the former manager praised Hughton for creating more history on the south coast.

He said, “It was getting a bit lonely being the only manager to have led the club into the top-flight and now Chris joins me and rightly takes his place in the history books of this great club.

“Chris is a quiet man; he’s not a Gus Poyet, he’s not an Alan Mullery, but he gets things done in a calm and collected manner.

“It’s no coincidence that wherever he’s been as a player, coach or manager, people only have good things to say about him.

“He’ll forever be remembered down here as the man who took Albion to the Promised Land after all the trials and tribulations that followed our departure from the Goldstone all those years ago.”

Mullery showed his excitement ahead of next season’s Premier League campaign, and believes the attraction of living in Brighton could be important when recruiting new players throughout the summer.

“Make no mistake, this is a wonderful time for the football club; we will now be mixing shoulders with the very best, and we have a stadium and a training facility on a par with any club in the country.

“We will have sold-out fixtures at the Amex and I’m sure, given our location, we will be able to attract players. We have something to grab hold of now, and the aim is not to let it go.

“People have already asked me who I’ll be supporting when Brighton play Tottenham and I say to them, ‘I hope the best team win, and that best team to be Brighton!’”

“As the song goes, we’re on our way and I couldn’t be more delighted for Chris Hughton, the players, Tony Bloom, Paul Barber, all the staff at the club and, of course, the fans.”

To read the full interview with Alan Mullery, purchase the Bristol City edition of Seagull, available in store or online at seagullsdirect.co.uk.